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I'm Angela Davis, a PNW native, mom of lots of kids, and I love saving money. I'm here to help you live well on a budget by making every penny count. You'll find deals at your local stores, ways to save online, recipes, and frugal living tips and inspiration.

Angela’s non-couponing deals

Shared on February 7, 2012This post may contain affiliate links which means I make a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you. See the disclosure policy for more information.

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any of my shopping trips. Honestly, they have been really boring — basically just maintenance trips to the closest grocery store. I feel like I’m getting my groove back and hit the stores yesterday. My mom was in town yesterday (props to Grandmas everywhere!) so I was able to power shop without the kids.

I was able to hit all my favorite non-couponing stores — I think I’ll start calling it the East County Discount Circuit. I just love saving big on food my family regularly eats without dealing with manufacturer’s coupons.

Everyday Deals (SE 174th & Division, Portland)

Everyday Deals is really hit or miss, especially this location. The store on SE 146th & Stark is bigger and has more inventory (and way better parking). Many of the items available are past date, so if you’re leery of expired food, it may be a wasted trip for you. We breed people with iron guts, so we’re fine with most of what’s available.

I plan to split the snacks into smaller (reusable, of course) bags and put them in my kids’ lunches this week (and hopefully next). The cheese is a “prize purchase” for my husband, like “I got you a prize! It’s cheese!” He is very easy to please.

I didn’t get a picture, but here’s what I was able to get for just under $13:

8 pears

6 apples

1 head of lettuce

1 dinner’s worth of broccoli

1 bag of baby carrots

1 onion

1 huge bag of red grapes (this alone was $5)

Grocery Outlet (SE 190th-ish & Division)

This could be dubbed the “Big Cheese Stock-up.” The Grocery Outlet typically has a large cooler filled with various cheeses, from the processed stuff to the very fancy kind. And the prices are usually fantastic, especially on the more rare varieties which tend to be super expensive at Fred Meyer & New Seasons.

Naturally, I waited to hit Franz until Groupon had a $10 Groupon Now! deal available. Considering that I spent $5 on 2 loaves of bread at Safeway this weekend, I think I hit the ball out of the park on this Franz trip!

Remember, the bread at the Franz Bakery Outlet is just as fresh as what’s available in the store. I usually purchase 2-3 weeks worth of bread at a time, store it on the counter and it NEVER molds before we use it. Shop the bakery outlets with confidence, my friends!

Grand total spent = $52.52

Time spent shopping = about 2 hours

Coupons used = 0

Benefit = No more shopping for at least 10 days!

Obviously, we have other produce items to eat in our house, so please don’t comment with, “That’s all the produce you’re feeding your family for a week & a half? You must be a bad mother…”. Besides, I’m a pretty awesome mom. I’m about to play baseball in the ripping winter wind with my boys.

If you’re looking for more inspiration on how to save money without coupons, be sure to check out my six-part series, “Saving money on real food.”